Improvement in steam hoisting apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet I.

cye ons. vImprovement in Steam-Hostng Apparatus. No.13l,894

Patented Oct. 1, 1872.

A. murmur/manille mM n (osaonf/z's Mauss] PATENT OFFICE.

' cHAELEs E. Oris, 0E YoNKEEs, NEw YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN STEAM HOISTING APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 131,894, dated October 1, 1872.

GAsE F.

To all whom 'it may concern:

. Be it known that I, CHARLES R. OTIs, of Yonkers, inthe county of Westchester and State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Steam Hoisting Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the fol-` ,connected therewith; `and Fig. 3 is a side or end view of the whole apparatus shown in Fig. 2. Y

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This inventionis here shown as applied to a steam hoisting apparatus for loading and unloading purposes by means of swinging cranes or derricksas, ,for instance, in loading and unloading canal and other boats, vessels, orA

vehicles; but it is notrestricted to such application or use, and the mechanism of which it is composed may, in many or most of its features, be adaptedfor different hoisting purposes. rllhe invention consists in various combinations and arrangements of mechanism, including one or more vertical hoisting-drums, swinging cranes, and drums with guy-ropes for operating the latter, all deriving their motions from the same hoisting-engine, whereby great facility is afforded for hoisting, lowering and delivering" goods, during a continuous motion of the engine in either direction, substantially as' hereinafter described. j

A A. represent the cylinders of a doublecylindersteam hoisting-engine, said cylinders and their connecting steam-chest being, preferably, arranged overhead on standards B B of abase, C, which rests on a bed-plate, D. E is the engine-shaft, having disks, wheels, or pulleys F F fast to its opposite ends, and provided with wrist-pins b for attachment of the piston and connecting-rods c ofthe engine, by which rotary motion is communicated to said shaft. G is the lever for operating the stopping,

f starting, and reversing valve of the engine.

Said lever has attached to it, atd, a cord or Vflexible strap, H, arranged to pass down between rollers or guides ee and connected below with a weighted lever, f, of a brake, I, applied to a brake-wheel, J, upon the engine-shaft, so that when the lever G occupies a vertical or pendent position, which is when the engine is stopped, the brakev is applied to the engineshaft, but when said lever is turned up to the right or to the left, according to the direction in which it is required to run the engine, the brake is released by the pull of the strap E on its lever. K is a counter-shaft, arranged to occupy a parallel position with the engineshaft in front of and at a higher elevation than the latter. This` shaft K receives its motion bya spur-wheel, g, from a pinion on the engineshaft, and it is of a length which causes it t0 extend a considerable distance beyond both sides ofthe engine-frame. L L are vertical hoisting-drums--that is, drums having vertical axes. These drums are arranged immediately below the extended portions of the counter-shaftK on both or opposite sides of the engine, and work within' independent frames M M. Each of them is mounted with a crownwheel, N, driven, as hereinafter described, by pinions O on the outer faces of the loose halves or portions P of the revolving friction-clutches P P and P P', arranged upon the counter-shaft K. In some cases the counter-shaft K may be below the hoisting-drums, and the wheels N and pinions O be arranged accordingly, the same relative arrangement of the engine-shaft, counter-shaft, and hoisting-drums, otherwise being similar, .and the effect produced the same. The portion P of either friction-clutch, P P continuously rotates with the countershaft K and has a sliding action thereon by means of a feather-and-clutch lever, h, for the purpose of communicating motion to or releasing from action either loose portion P of the clutch land so setting in motion or freeing the hoisting-drums. Brakes Q Q, Operated by foot or hand levers fi t', may be applied to the loose portions P P of the clutches for arresting or holding the drums when the driving portions P P of the clutches Vare relieved frm friction on the loose portions P P. By reason of the arrangement of the hoisting-drums L L in a vertical position, either of which may be put into operation as required, the

hoisting-ropes RR may not simply be extended any required distance to the point or place of operation, but be spread out laterally or run at any angle horizontally in relation with the drums, Without interfering with their proper courses on the drums when winding or unwinding; thus, they may be run out to work over or in connection with swinging cranes or derricks S S, arranged at a considerably greater distance apart than the hoisting-drums, or outof straight line with thelatter, said derricks being suitably provided with pulleys for guiding the hoisting-ropes. This will be found a very convenient arrangement for loading and unloading barges on canals, a crane being disposed both fore and aft and each being capable of independent operation as regards its hoisting mechanism, and without any necessity of stopping the engine when temporarily ceasing to hoist orlower goods. To swing the cranes in or out, as required, for the purposes ofloadingand unloading-as, for instance, from the wharf to the boat or from the latter to the wharfarrange on the outer ends of the extended portions of the counter-shaft K loose drums T T, having one-half of a friction-clutch, U, fast to their one end, and communicate motion to said drums independently of each other, as required, by sliding the other halves of the clutches in along the counter-shaft with which they rotate by means of a feather, levers k k, and rodsZ i, serving to adjust the sliding por tions 0i' the clutches in or out, as required. Guy ropes or chains VV' are connected at their one end to the drums TT, and at their other end to one side of' the jib of either crane S S, so that, on rotating either drum T to Wind on its rope V, the jib of the crane, to which said ,rope belongs, will be swung inward, and, on

freeing said drum from its driving connection with the shaft K by release of its clutch U, the crane under operation will swing back to its normal position by suitably hanging it for such purpose, or by reason of its deilection of the hoisting-rope. The friction-clutches P P and U also serve to retard as required the drums L and T when in motion. Y

What is here claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, with the hoisting engine, of one or more vertical hoisting-drums, L, and shaft K, for giving motion to the same, when said shaft is arranged' in relation with the drum or drums, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of two or more independent vertical hoistingdrums, L L, the countervshaft K, the gears N O, the friction-clutches P P P Pf, and the engine-shaft E, essentially 'as described.

3. The combination, with one or more vertical hoisting-drums, L, of one or more swinging cranes, S, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of one or more drums, T, and friction-clutches U with one or more swinging cranes, S, guy-ropes V, and hoistingdrum or drums L, essentially as specified.

GHAS. R. `OTIS.

Witnesses:

Jas. HENDERSON, J oHN H. LooKWooD. 

